Smart Accelerates LTE Roll-out in “Summer Hotspots” Across PH!

Summer season has brought Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) to accelerate the roll-out of their Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) technology in popular tourist spots across the Philippines.

Smart Accelerates LTE Roll-out in “Summer Hotspots” Across PH!

With this effort, internal tests revealed median Smart LTE download speeds of between 10 Mbps to 64 Mbps in various summer hotspots in the country. These include Baguio City in Benguet, San Fernando City in La Union, Timberland Heights in Rizal, Puerto Princesa in Palawan, and Glan in Saragani.

“Whether they are surfing the waves in Baler, Aurora, enjoying the food at Pampanga food parks or island-hopping in Batanes, with LTE now in these areas, our traveling Smart, TNT, and Sun customers can stay connected wherever they are,” Mario G. Tamayo, PLDT and Smart Senior Vice President for Network Planning and Engineering, addressed.

Moreover, Tamayo boasted that in areas where Smart has already rolled out LTE and LTE-A, business owners and Smart retailers have enjoyed an increase in sales because of enhanced mobile data experience.

“More than letting our customers share their travel stories on-the-go via social media and keep in touch with their loved ones through various messaging apps while sightseeing, better connectivity can also boost local tourism and help businesses in the area earn more,” Tamayo added.

The telco giant has deployed LTE-A in tourist-magnet town Sagada in Mountain Province, too. On this note, Sagada officials were hopeful that Smart LTE in their place can further increase local tourism and businesses. Also, this recent move by Smart gives Sagada residents a chance to stay up-to-date with the rest of the world.